Geography at Montana State University

Geography at Montana State University MILTON J. EDIE Emeritus Professor of Geography Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717 X H E HISTORYOFGEOGRAPHY TEACHING at Montana State Univer­ sity covers a much longer period of time than does the history of the Department ofEarth Sciences where geography courses and curricula are now housed. The Department, like so many others across the United States, is a post-World War II creation, coinciding with the rapidly increasing enrollments in higher education first generated by returning veterans, and later sustained by the baby-boom generation. Although geology courses have been available annually since 1893, when the institution was founded, the first geography course was not offered until 1922, when the Department of Secretarial Science introduced a course entitled “commercial geography.” It was not until 1947, however, that a professionally trained geographer/ geologist was employed at then-Montana State College, not only to teach the existing courses in the two disciplines, but also to establish an academic department. Thus, the present Department of Earth Sciences was created in 1947 as a Department of Geography and 218 EDIE: Geography at Montana State University 219 Geology. It retained that title until 1959, when the name change to Earth Sciences was approved. Prior to 1970, Montana State had a tradition of long-term admin­ istrative appointments, particularly at the dean and department head level. It was neither unusual nor unexpected that an individual might serve in either position until retirement. Those who left these positions sooner usually did so to accept similar or higher appoint­ ments at other institutions. In the case of Earth Sciences, there have been only four department heads in its 43-year history: Helbum (geography), seventeen years (resigned and left Montana State); Edie (geography), sixteen years (resigned four years before retirement); Smith (geology), three years (accidental death); Custer (geology), seven years (has resigned effective 1991). In 1970, Montana State initiated a five-year review system for department heads, with most of the heads electing to serve only five years. The university administration has yet to adopt formally a rotating chair system, although some departments are following such a system under the headship format. Earth Sciences faculty are generally in favor ofchanging to achair system which calls for greater faculty involvement in decision making at the department level. Staff and Courses The first staff member of the new department was Nicholas Helbum, whose contact with Montana State began when, an under­ graduate at the University ofChicago, he took part in a visiting lecture series arranged by Roland R. Renne, of Montana State’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics. Apparently mutually fa­ vorable impressionsresulted, forHelbum shortly enrolled atMontana State in a graduate program that led him to the Master of Science in Agricultural Economics in 1941. During the ensuing war, Helbum was a member of a Forest Service smoke-jumping team based in Missoula, and was able to pursue some preliminary field work on the doctoral program in geography he had started at the University of Wisconsin (and completed in 1950). Renne, who became president 220 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 52 • 1990 of Montana State in 1945, held the new geology-geography position open for Helbum until his discharge from the Forest Service camp. The new department acquired responsibility for four courses that had originated in other departments: general geology (from chemis­ try), commercial geography (from secretarial science), climatology (from agronomy and soils), and theconservation ofnatural and human resources in Montana (from agricultural economics and economics). Helbum quickly added courses in physical geography and historical geology. When a geologist was added to the staff in 1950, Helbum was able to establish three new courses congenial to his own interests: agricultural geography, Middle East problems and backgrounds (pur­ suant to a year of studying Turkish agriculture), and political geogra­ phy (as a requirement for ROTC students). With continuing increases in enrollment, Milton Edie, the next geographer selected, came from the University of Wisconsin with a joint appointment in geography and conservation education, the latter having just been mandated (but not funded) by the 1955 Montana legislature for teacher training both on and off campus. Montana’s sparse population made it difficult to recruit...